Beginning tonight, we observe the full day fast of Tisha B’Av. This sad day, the bleakest on the calendar, commemorates far more than a string of tragedies in our history that occurred on this day; it reminds us that our tradition linked these tragedies with our own inability to stop deep personal hatreds and rivalries from scarring our world. Learning to change ourselves positively can change the world. The road to repentance and self improvement begins here, which is why the next 7 weeks mark the Seven Weeks of Consolation that lead to Rosh Hashana.